Solomon teases new labour advisory group that will inform AI policy

In anticipation of the federal government’s artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, AI Minister Evan Solomon hinted at the formation of a new advisory group to represent the interests of Canadian workers. Speaking at the Public Policy Forum’s Canada Growth Summit on May 7, Solomon (Toronto Centre, Ont.) said his office is “just about to set up, with labour leaders, an AI labour advisory group.” “So, I have labour’s voice in there for the pro-worker side of it,” Solomon told the Toronto crowd. The broadcaster-turned-politician compared the yet-to-be established group to the government’s AI and Culture Advisory Council, which was announced following a two-day summit in Banff, Alta., this past March. That panel will consist of 12 cultural leaders, none of which have yet been publicly appointed. Solomon said the burgeoning use of AI concerns workers in a variety of sectors, who worry about how the technology's rise could affect their jobs. Earlier this year, a report from Statistics Canada found approximately 60 per cent of Canadian workers are “highly exposed to AI-related job transformation,” with the tech potentially offering replacement-level quality for half those workers Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem has also expressed concerns over evidence that AI is reducing the number of entry-level jobs available to Canadians. “For too many workers, AI is happening to them, not for them,” said Solomon. “That has to change.” “It has to start …, not just training AI engineers, but equipping the broader workforce with AI literacy and AI tools.” Earlier this week, during an unrelated press conference, Solomon said his government’s forthcoming AI strategy will address the “changing needs of labour,” without providing additional details. Solomon initially promised the strategy would be released during the first quarter of 2026. On Thursday, he refused to provide a “hard date,” but insisted it would be unveiled “very soon.” “There’s some anticipation as to when we will release the strategy,” said Solomon. “People said, ‘it’s going too fast, you can’t just do it too fast.’” “Now, people are like, ‘wait, where is it?’” Last year, the federal government framed the strategy’s consultation as a 30-day ‘national sprint’ that sought input from the general public and a panel of 28 experts and stakeholder representatives, including Sarah Ryan, a senior research officer at the Canadian Union of Public Employees. The Liberal government’s recent spring economic update also included six foundational pillars that will underpin the strategy, including “empowering Canadians,” which emphasized the technology must create “good jobs.” “The electrician scoping a job, the bookkeepers reconciling accounts, the farmer looking at how much fertilizer to use, the municipal planner modelling traffic,” said Solomon on Thursday. “Skills policy is not beside the AI strategy, skills policy is at the centre of it.” “Pro-worker industrial AI — that will be key.” dlegree@thewirereport.ca

Solomon teases new labour advisory group that will inform AI policy

Regulatory |
By Davis Legree
|May 7, 2026

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Solomon teases new labour advisory group that will inform AI policy

Regulatory | By Davis Legree |May 7, 2026

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